I recently read a reprinted “Sermon of the Week” from a local Florida newspaper. In the context of yesterday’s blog post, “Hope When Your World Falls Apart”, this “sermon” could be labeled as Part Two. The writer had been given bad news by a physician who used the phrase, “I have bad news, we found cancer.” Even while clinging to God’s peace, the emotions of shock, fear and uncertainty were very real to him. Full recovery was anticipated but the notorious words, “what if?” immediately came to mind. The “what ifs’ comprise an all-to-frequent condition in my own life at times. Some people believe that you should never question why circumstances and situations come your way, but just “trust and believe” and everything will be OK. Ideally, they may be correct but it is easier said than done. Thinking about it, spiritual giants of the Bible like David and Job questioned God and wondered “why?”. Even Jesus cried out while being crucified on the cross when He exclaimed “my God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” While the perfecting of our faith is God’s ultimate goal for us, honest faith and feelings are often the case. Even the famous English pastor Charles Spurgeon once was quoted as saying “when you can’t hold onto God, He will always hold on to you.” Following his cancer surgery, the writer found himself resting on the words of Psalm 91 which state: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty…..He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God and I am trusting Him.” He also took comfort in the words written by the apostle Paul in Romans 8: “I am convinced that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Neither death, nor life not even cancer! Our God is faithful and absolutely dependable. In the darkest hours and lowest valleys, He holds us in His nurturing arms of grace and we find rest in His protection. His love for us is unceasing, eternal and is for everyone. May we find peace, security and purpose in the love of this great God and His Son, Jesus, who never leaves us and walks with us always.